Gather a bunch of 50- and 60-year-olds in a focus group, show them Black Ops II's violent, self-regarding trailer, and ask them what they think. Recipe for incomprehending outrage and comedy gold, akin to the infamous "Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2," stunt EA pulled, right?.

Not really. Asked why the game is so popular with these dern whippersnappers, one guy pipes right up with a smile. "You probably have the most opportunity to kill and fuck up the most things," he says.

"Years ago, we had a game called Battleship," another gentleman says-very earnestly-right after that. "And it was very competitive. And we had five or six guys participate. What's changed?" You know, he has a point. We'd get into fights and call each other all kinds of nasty words over Battleship all the time.

Three of them say they'd be willing to try it. All of them say they'd be killed instantaneously upon joining a multiplayer session (the most optimistic guess was "20 seconds," from one of the women."

Why not? "Looks like fun," says one old timer. "Not for me," says another woman, but she's smiling as she says it. "I don't understand the violence, I don't get it," says another woman, but again, her tone doesn't suggest that someone else is wrong for getting it.

Finally, "Whee!" says the Battleship aficionado. That might be the best reaction of all of them.